Now Arash looked uncomfortable. “Because he says for the full million dollars up front he has some helpful tips on avoiding detection when we tap into the cable. He also says there is a wireless backup data transfer system, and he’ll include information on it as well. But only if we pay the million up front.”
Bijan scowled. “This man seems to have an answer for everything. So, how long does it take him to respond when you contact him?”
Arash smiled. “Very quickly. I think he is looking forward to getting his money.”
Bijan nodded. “I’m sure he is. Have our hackers been able to trace his location?”
Arash shook his head. “Not at all. When the first hacker was unable to do so I went to his supervisor, who failed as well. Finally, I had the head of the cybersecurity department try, who was also unsuccessful. He told me that if the man knows as much about communications as he does about maintaining his anonymity, our payment will not be wasted.”
Bijan grunted. “Very well. If it is everything promised, it will indeed be money well spent.”
Bijan then picked up the nearest phone and punched in the numbers for his assistant, quickly giving him the necessary instructions.
“You should have access to one million dollars in cryptocurrency within ten minutes. Once you do, contact the man and tell him we agree to his terms.”
Half an hour later Arash and Bijan had a set of GPS coordinates, and were reading several pages of instructions.
Bijan frowned. “So, he included the transmission frequency for the wireless backup data transfer system, but warns it may have been changed.
He recommends blanket jamming of all frequencies for a radius of several miles around the border crossing point.”
Arash‘s eyebrows rose. “An R-330ZH automated jammer?”
Bijan smiled. “Exactly. I had already planned to allocate one to the commander of this mission anyway. We have several, and they are often useful.”
Arash nodded. “I see that my initial plan to loop a short recording of ambient noise from the sensor collectors would have been a mistake.”
Bijan shrugged. “It was my first thought as well. I have no desire to have our force linger at the border any longer than necessary. However, we can send a team ahead of the main force to carry out the mission. As I understand it, software will alert the Saudis if we loop a short recording. But, if we leave at least a five-minute gap between the recording we collect and the one we switch to, we can get away with using the recording once. That means to give us enough time to get across the border undetected the recording will need to be at least ninety minutes long.”
Arash frowned. “I am no military expert. But will it really take that long? I ask because there are technical issues with making and properly replaying such a long recording. Training someone to go with our force will not be as easy as I thought.”
Bijan nodded. “I hope it won’t take so long to cross. But the first thing you learn in the military is to prepare for the unexpected. There is some good news, though. You won’t have to worry about training anyone.”
Arash frowned even more deeply. “Why not? This really will not be so simple…”
His voice trailed off as he saw Bijan’s smile widening.
Arash‘s voice rose in near panic as it finally dawned on him why he would not need to train another technician.
“I cannot be spared here! I am overseeing numerous projects of the highest priority!”
Bijan’s smile didn’t waver. “I know. But your boss agrees with me that this mission is more important than all the others put together.”
Bijan could see Arash’s thoughts race as he tried to find a way out. Then, to his surprise, Arash turned to a nearby wooden crate and flipped off its lid.
“Well, my beloved boss told me not to show you this, because I think he has his own plans for it. But if I’m going on this adventure, I want us to have every advantage we can get.”
Bijan’s eyebrows rose. What was inside the crate was… cloth. What was so special about it?
As though reading his thoughts, Arash said “You cannot imagine how difficult this was to obtain. The manufacturer calls it the Ultra-Light Camouflage Netting System. The American military uses acronyms for everything, and calls it ULCANS.”
Bijan shrugged. “So, what makes it different than any other camouflage?”
Arash smiled. “The honest answer is that we don’t know. That’s why the company selling this to the American military was able to get a contract for half a billion dollars. What we do know is that it is effective at blocking detection not just in the visible light spectrum, but in all wavelengths used by current military sensors, including radar and thermal.”
Bijan frowned. “So, you mean that radars and thermal imaging won’t detect a vehicle covered with this material, even if it is on the move?”
Now Arash’s smile widened. “Please watch the video that the manufacturer has helpfully uploaded to the Internet.”
When the short video had finished, Bijan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“They talk about customizing the fabric to different environments. I imagine that was not possible for this shipment.”
Arash shook his head. “No. That would require collecting data in the area where the fabric would actually be used. However, as you can see we did make the obvious choice from the manufacturer’s generic terrain selection.”
Bijan grunted. “Yes, desert. I believe you when you say this was hard to get. How much do we have, and can we get more?”
Arash looked uncertain. “I can give you documentation showing the precise quantities and dimensions. But from what I have been told of your plans I cannot say if it will be enough. The material obviously has to be cut to size. You will have many vehicle types. For application in the field you will want attachment mounts designed to fit the pre-made cuts. There are several different application approaches that we should test to see which can be done most quickly, and give the best coverage.”
Arash paused. “The simple answer to your second question is no. We were able to get a man inside the Americans’ manufacturing facility in Kentucky in their shipping department. After months of learning their systems, he was able to fake documents routing a shipment to the manufacturer’s headquarters.”
Bijan frowned. “And where is that?”
Arash grinned. “Israel.” When he saw Bijan’s reaction, he had to laugh, and after a moment Bijan did too.
Bijan shook his head. “Obviously, we did not steal the shipment from Israel.”
Arash nodded. “Correct. Our agent had the shipment routed through Antwerp, and we were able to intercept it there. Unfortunately, he had to flee after this success, just one step ahead of the authorities. So, there is no way of knowing if or when we may be able to get more of this fabric.”
Bijan shrugged. “Very well. We will make whatever use of it we can. And Arash, don’t worry about your boss. I will speak with him on my way out and remind him — again — that my mission has top priority.”
Arash nodded, but Bijan could see that he was still unhappy.
Bijan clapped him on the shoulder and told him with a grin, “Cheer up!
Thanks to you we have a fighting chance of success. Look at it this way — how many Iranians will ever get to visit Riyadh?”
Chapter Seven
Guardian Colonel Bijan Turani had to suppress a smile at the poorly concealed nervousness of the artillery captain standing at attention in front of him. If their positions had been reversed, Bijan had to admit to himself he might have reacted the same way.
“Captain Dabiri, I know you have had little time to prepare for this exercise. That was precisely the point. I want to see how well your unit can perform under pressure. Do you have any questions about your orders?”, Bijan asked.